December 23/09 15:27 pm - Cycling (in the) News

Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring. –Desmond Tutu

Cycling 'not as cold as everyone might think'Some motorists might look at cyclists like Sean Carter as if he is crazy to be biking in the bitter winter cold.

But the truth is that he’s probably warmer than most people in their cars. Read more at Metro News Calgary

Recycled Bicycle Xmas TreeAt this time of year there are no end of artists and innovators creating seasonal cheer from alternative materials. UK-based Sarah Wigglesworth Architects built the eco-friendly Bermondsey Square Christmas Tree from 35 recycled bicycle wheels to raise awareness about Re-Cycle, a UK-based charity that recycled bicycles and sends them to Africa.Read more at greenmuze.com

New snow bicycle dazzles It's a bike built from the snow up.

Created with winter in mind, Surly's innovative Pugsley mountain bike with its super-wide tires gives cyclists some real traction in snowy, slippery conditions whether on city streets or back-country trails.

Olympia Cycle and Ski owner Scot Miller said the Pugsley was built by the Minnesota company around its 10-cm-wide specialized Endomorph tires and Large Marge rims with northern snow races in mind. Read more at Cnews

Armstrong and Contador's team Astana in trouble over Tour de France drip-bagsSpaniard Contador won his second Tour in 2009 while seven-time winner Armstrong, who has started the new Team Radioshack for next season with former Astana team manager Johan Bruyneel, finished third.

But French newspaper Le Monde has reported drip bags - which have been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency since 2008 - had been seized by the French Department against Environment Pollution and Public Health (Oclaesp), bringing the Kazakh team's performance into question.Read more at More than the Games

Scotland lift David Milllar ban for Commonwealth GamesScotland will allow cyclist David Millar to compete for his nation at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India after he won an appeal against his life ban.Commonwealth Games Scotland has lifted a ban that was enforced after Millar, 32, was suspended from cycling for two years in 2004 for using drug EPO.Read more at BBC

Millar believes cycling is cleaner than it's ever beenThe sport has been plagued with doping scandals in the past decade and the 32-year old Scot was banned for two years in 2004 after admitting his use of blood booster EPO.

But, having campaigned against doping since his suspension, Millar has seen his Commonwealth Games ban overturned and is set to represent Scotland in New Delhi in October.Read more at More than the Games

Rebellin: Anomalies in positive doping test Italy's cycling road race silver medallist Davide Rebellin, who was ordered to return his medal last month because of a positive doping test from last year's Beijing Olympics, has said he can prove he is innocent.

"With my lawyers we have discovered too many mysteries in the saga," Rebellin, who is appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, told Wednesday's Gazzetta dello Sport in his first public comments for months. Read more at Universal Sports

Hoy hails Olympic revampSir Chris Hoy is delighted that Victoria Pendleton now has the chance to match his gold medal hat-trick but believes changes to the Olympic cycling programme have denied the British public a classic contest in 2012.

In Beijing, while Hoy had three events in which to compete, Pendleton only had one – the sprint – and she won that.Read more at Edinburgh News

Chance of fifth gold could persuade Chris Hoy to forsake title defenceSir Chris Hoy has admitted that, while he still plans to defend all three of his Olympic titles in London, he might sacrifice one or two to guarantee a gold medal.The Scot, who is one gold short of Sir Steve Redgrave's British career record of five, won three of his four across five gruelling days in Beijing.Read more at The Scotsman

Cycling indoors can make cycling outdoors betterWinter can be a tough time for those who stay in shape by bicycling. Icy roads, short days and cold temperatures can make riding impossible, if not unpleasant.

Chris Kelley, a local fitness coach who also works in real estate, has an answer.

It's not spin class, a popular stationary form of indoor cycling. Nor is it the traditional stationary bike, which can usually be found covered with dust and cobwebs in a cellar or attic.Read more at Frederick NewsPost

Bicycles in Africa as seen by BBC News website readersRead more at Photos at BBC

End of the road for Royal Mail bicycles is no longer Africa The decision by the Royal Mail earlier this year to decommission its fleet of 16,000 Pashley delivery bicycles is having a detrimental effect on a charity that reconditions unwanted bikes before shipping them to Africa. Bicycles are used by postmen on over 16,000 routes and the service has been in operation for nearly 120 years. Historically, as bikes have completed their term of service they have been donated to one of a number of charities for refurbishment. Read more at: ETA

Stop building cycleways (Opinion)There has been a number of letters to the News recently from indignant cyclists, defending their decision to not use the many excellent cycle lanes that can be found all over town.

Quoting chapter and verse of the Highway Code, these people state - with truly cosmic reasoning - that they do not have to use cycle lanes by law and, therefore, they shan't use them.Read more at Cambridge News

Holland's Plan to Tax on Every Kilometer DrivenEvery car owner will be required to purchase a GPS machine that is able to send data tracking the distances of trips to a billing agency. Any motorist caught without the device will be fined. People driving a standard family sedan will be charged 3 euro cents per kilometer in 2012, with the tax going up every year until 2018, when it is expected to top out at an average of 6.7 cents per kilometer.ccording to Traffic Minister Camiel Eurlings, the hope is that commuters faced with paying a hefty tax on their driving will opt to start carpooling or riding bicycles to work.Read more at TIME

Riding naked okay, but not without helmet Cycling starkers might be okay in New Zealand - but just make sure the cops don't catch you without a helmet.

Two Kiwi men wearing nothing but their birthday suits have been issued with a warning for riding without protective head gear on a jaunt around the Coromandel seaside resort of Whangamata.

Local bobby Senior Constable Cathy Duder was patrolling the resort when she came across the two nude men, both in their early 20s. Read more at stuff.co.nz

Delhi metro authorities are encouraging a bicycle boomErin Roberts, a foreign tourist, gets out of a metro station in the national capital and walks towards the car park. She pays the parking attendant. Next, Erin rides out on a bicycle into the busy Connaught Place. This scene can be witnessed every day on several metro stations around Delhi, thanks to a new cycle rental service by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).Read more at DNA